In 2015, Shamima Begum made headlines when she left the United Kingdom to join the Islamic State (IS). This decision led the British government to revoke her citizenship, effectively leaving her stateless and trapped in a legal gray area ever since.

Begum’s predicament intensified following the collapse of IS in 2019. She has been living in Syria’s al-Roj camp, a place that also houses 34 Australians, including 11 women often described as ‘ISIS brides,’ alongside 23 children. These individuals, allegedly connected to IS fighters, recently faced disappointment in their attempt to return home. Unlike Begum, the Australian government has refrained from stripping them of citizenship, a move that would contravene international law if it resulted in statelessness.

Several Australians have previously returned from Syrian camps, some with the explicit support of the government, others without. However, the current administration claims it has not assisted this particular group. Despite this, there are growing calls for the government to deny these individuals passports, a measure that could potentially prevent their return indefinitely. In fact, a temporary exclusion order has already been issued against one person in the group.

The key distinction between Begum’s situation and that of the Australians lies in the contested issue of citizenship. Born and raised in London’s diverse Bethnal Green neighborhood, Begum is a British citizen of Bangladeshi heritage. Her case remains mired in controversy, reflecting the complex intersection of nationality, law, and international relations.

What ultimately separates Begum’s case from that of the Australians is a disputed claim about citizenship.

Who is Shamima Begum?

Born in London, raised and educated in the multicultural neighbourhood of Bethnal Green, Begum was a British citizen of Bangladeshi descent.

She made international headlines after travelling to Syria to join IS in February 2015.

The girl, who was just 15 years old at the time, flew from London to Türkiye with her two school friends, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, and was smuggled across the Syrian border with an IS-linked network. Just 10 days after their arrival, Begum was married to Dutch-born Yago Riedijk, a Muslim convert and IS fighter.

At the time, the self-proclaimed caliphate was at the height of its powers and occupied a territory roughly the size of Victoria with some 12 million people under its control.

Reports differ over what Begum did there, with some claiming she joined the brutal “morality police” and enforced strict discipline amongst the population. A fellow school friend, however, who joined IS before Begum, described her as a “shy misfit” who stayed at home under the command of her husband.

During her time in Syria, Begum gave birth to three children, all of whom died. Her youngest child, Jarrah, was born in the al-Hol refugee camp and died of pneumonia in al-Roj.

Jarrah’s birth was what motivated her to seek a return to the UK, she claimed in a tell-all interview from al-Hol in 2019. The story sparked national debate over whether she should be allowed to come back and, not long after, then-British home secretary Sajid Javid stripped Begum of her citizenship.

“If you have supported terrorist organisations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return”, Javid said.

The UK government has said Begum is a Bangladeshi citizen by descent, as her parents were born there, and that stripping her of her British citizenship would not make her stateless.

The government of Bangladesh, however, rejected such a claim.

“Bangladesh asserts that Ms Shamima Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen. She is a British citizen by birth and has never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh,” Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said in a statement in 2019.

“It may also be mentioned that she never visited Bangladesh in the past despite her parental lineage. So, there is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh,” it added.

In addition, Bangladeshi foreign minister Abdul Momen reiterated that year that Begum would face the death penalty if she entered the country, owing to its “zero tolerance” policy toward terrorism.

Begum has made several legal appeals over the stripping of her citizenship — all of which have failed — and has spent the past seven years in al-Roj.

In a BBC podcast she was the focus of in 2023, she mentioned living in a dusty tent, unable to leave, with an “indefinitely” similar future ahead of her.

“This is, I feel like worse than a prison sentence because at least with prison sentences you know that there will be an end, but here you don’t know if there’s going to be an end.”

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